Prisoner falls in love with warder

From the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, first published Thursday 5th Jan 2006.

FORMER Erlestoke inmate Andrew Breeze has told of the passionate affair he conducted with the prison's only female warder during a five month secret fling while behind bars in Wiltshire.

He has now moved into Hannah Harper's home at Rowe Mead on the Pewsham estate in Chippenham.

Mr Breeze, 33, who was serving a three-year sentence at the jail near Devizes for possession and intent to supply class A drugs, said: "I fancied her straight away. We got chatting and it was a fatal attraction I suppose.

"I was helping an orderly out and we had more and more contact. It wasn't long before I'd fallen for her.

"Obviously it was difficult for us to have a sexual relationship but we managed. She used to creep into my cell."

Their secret came out when Miss Harper decided to confide in a friend on the outside.

The pair still aren't sure exactly how bosses at the Category C prison found out about their relationship, but Mr Breeze was quickly moved to a prison 165 miles away in Warwickshire.

"I was heartbroken," he said. "I was determined not to let it affect what we had. We stayed in touch against the odds and Hannah even went to visit my mum and my six-year-old daughter to tell them what had happened."

When Mr Breeze was released on December 2 after serving 18 months, he moved in with Miss Harper. He said: "She's an absolute darling and I couldn't imagine life without her now. I was in prison once before in 1993 and this time was so much easier because of Hannah.

"The last few months away from her were hard but she asked me to marry her when I came out. This is definitely for real. She knows everything about me. I don't have to lie to her. The best part is she wouldn't change a thing, that's true love."

Miss Harper, 26, said she was forced to resign from her £20,000 a year post in October.

The pair had managed to keep their illicit relationship a well-guarded secret for five months.

Mr Breeze said: "We couldn't keep our hands off each other. At first we thought we'd be caught but it was the easiest thing in the world to get away with."

He said he expected the worst time of his life when he was sentenced but everything changed when he spotted Miss Harper walking past his cell.

Miss Harper said she had to resign because her life at the prison was becoming unbearable. "I was a prison officer for five years and before that I was in the Army," she said. "I was one of the youngest officers at Erlestoke and because I'm also female I had celebrity status among the prisoners and staff.

"I'm not prepared to talk about my relationship with Andrew. I want to do anything in my power to protect him. He's making a real go of things and trying to get a job. I don't want the person I love getting hurt."

Erlestoke governor Doug Moon said the prison does not tolerate inappropriate relationships between staff and prisoners.

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